The Piano
by Lynne Porcelain
Summary: Gumball's been feeling guilty lately. These confusing feelings are keeping him up at night. He has to show his crush how he feels about him. He sneaks out in the dead of night to enact him master plan. But when all is said and done, will it have been worth it? Does he even feel the same way back...? One way or another, Gumball was going to find out tonight.


**A/N: Hi, Lynne here. This is my first romance oneshot. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to the Amazing World of Gumball.**

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It was a cool night in the suburbs. The sound of crickets chirping filled the air, and the streets were completely empty. The odd car rumbled along the desolate road, headlights illuminating the surroundings, but only for a moment. The front of one of the silent houses in the suburbs was an elegant black grand piano, with tracks lining the sidewalk leaning up to it. The figure responsible for the movement, a blue cat, sat hunched over the piano on a short stool.

Gumball Watterson was exhausted. He'd spent hours pushing the instrument up this hill in the dead of night and he didn't know whether he had it in him to actually play it anymore. He was that worn out. However, he deemed it necessary. Gumball felt guilty. He'd treated someone wrong, and he wanted to set things right. He had no idea whether they would accept his apology or not, but he had to try.

He had spent many sleepless nights thinking about the decision he made. Thinking about him. The reason he was able to do what he was doing that night was because of his insomnia. Gumball's family kept asking him what was wrong, and he always lied to them. He was worried about school. Worried about his mother's mental health. Worried about Penny. Well, technically that last one wasn't a lie. They had split up a month ago because they realised they were only interested in the idea of being together, and not each other. Gumball was having second thoughts about his sexuality, and Penny was tired of him constantly getting into trouble. They were still friends, but he did still worry about her from time to time.

Tonight, though, he was too anxious to think about that. He looked up at the vacant upstairs window, curtains drawn. He could tell a night-light had been left on, revealing silhouettes of all kinds of trinkets on the shelves around a bed. Gumball could only just make out the shape of a figure under a blanket from where he was sitting. That had to be him.

Gumball stared down at the keys, flexing his paws. He couldn't back out now. Those confusing feelings had become too much to bear, and he just had to let them out. He loved to sing, and that was how he was going to break the news to his acquaintance tonight.

Breathe in, breathe out. You can do this.

He closed his eyes, and muscle memory took over. The street was suddenly alive with the sound of soft chords as Gumball began to play. He had written this song the night before during another bout of insomnia. A poem especially for this person. He reached the first verse and began to sing.

_We didn't get off on the right foot_

_And I'm sorry for that, you know_

_When I sent you away from the world_

_I never really wanted you to go_

Rob awoke with a start, sitting up in bed in the empty house he'd been hiding out in for the past few weeks. What was going on? It must have been midnight. He rubbed his eye and grabbed a hair tie from his bedside table, pulling his long brown hair back into a ponytail. However, he didn't move from his bed just yet. Instead, he sat and listened to the strange sound outside his window.

_Will you forgive me tonight?_

_Oh, will you forgive me tonight?_

_You don't have to if it hurts too much_

_But will you forgive me tonight?_

He flinched. Gumball. That was Gumball. Singing to him. Rob pinched himself, half-hoping that he was just dreaming, but no. He was wide awake. Rob fought the villainous instinct to jump out of bed and tell the cat to get lost, because he knew that that wasn't who he was anymore. Getting him to scram would mean that he could push all those confusing feelings about his rival to the back of his mind for him to deal with another day… Though something within him had decided that today was the day.

He brought his knees close to his chest and shuddered. Tears he didn't know were there rolled down and dripped onto his lap. Why was he crying? Why was he getting emotional over some stupid song? And, most importantly, why was Gumball doing this? One of his legs crackled, not appreciating making contact with the water, and he silently cursed. Gumball's playing slowed. The cat could see him, Rob was sure of it.

_Whenever I see you I think to myself_

_I have never felt like this before_

_And I know that you're supposed to be my rival_

_But I don't have it in me anymore_

The knot in Gumball's stomach tightened, his mouth feeling dry as he choked out the second verse. That had been the hardest one for him to sing, because he was laying everything out on the table. He had just revealed what he truly felt about Rob. It felt… Freeing. His blue-furred cheeks grew warm and he bowed his head. The happiness never stopped intensifying. It was just like when he first kissed Penny, but a million times stronger. He wanted to open the door and run upstairs and hug Rob forever and ever and-

Gumball blinked, coming to his senses. Woah. What a crush… But it was probably unrequited. Rob had every right to be angry at him, to hate him, to be his nemesis. As much as it would hurt him, Gumball would understand if he didn't feel the same way back. He just wanted closure, so that if things didn't go the way he hoped tonight, at least he would _know_. Staring at the ceiling all night in mental anguish over this was maddening to say the least. A no was still an answer. Gumball could try to forget about Rob and they could go their separate ways.

He looked back up towards the window, ever-afraid of the older teen yanking it open and yelling at him. Gumball wouldn't be surprised if he did that. But… Nothing. He had almost finished his song, and Rob hadn't tossed a bowling ball his way. Why not? What was he waiting for? This was torture… His clammy paws caressed the keys and led him effortlessly to the final chorus.

_Will you forgive me tonight?_

_Oh, will you forgive me tonight?_

_You don't have to if it hurts too much_

_But will you forgive me tonight?_

Rob sat with his head in his hands. That was that. Gumball did feel the same way back… He shook his head. This was ridiculous! Gumball left him to rot! He _can't_ be in love with him. Gumball must be doing this to wind him up, or to kick off some elaborate chain of pranks, or to impress Penny by showing he was mature enough to apologise for ruining his life, or, or…

Or he genuinely _was_ telling the truth.

The cyclops couldn't come up with any more hurtful excuses. Each one pained him more to dream up than the last. Rob was in denial, and that was the hardest thing for him to admit. As the cat's song drew to a close, he exhaled softly. Deep down, he really did admire Gumball. Only it manifested as jealousy and bitterness, because he was young, inexperienced, and didn't know how to handle his feelings. He figured that he would always be alone. The world had decided that he was not important enough to be a part of it. Trying to force himself to be a part of it by getting into a relationship would never ever work, because surely the world would always undo it. If that wasn't a sign that he would never meet someone, he didn't know what was. But here he was, sobbing into his quilt. His luck was finally turning around. He knew what he needed to do. Rob threw off his bedsheets and jumped to the window. Gumball needed an answer.

The blue cat was close to hyperventilating, his paws frozen in the position of the last chord he played. He could hear thumping. This was it. He was about to be chased off of Rob's property with a baseball bat, or a machine gun, or a crocodile. Something bad. Gumball could see Rob's polygonal hand creeping around the curtain. His ears flew back and he prepared for the worst.

When Rob opened the curtain, Gumball's jaw dropped.

He didn't look angry. He didn't look anywhere near angry. A soft smile graced Rob's features and… The older teen was blushing. Gumball's cheeks suddenly felt a whole lot warmer, and he was finding it hard not to let himself melt into a blue puddle on the sidewalk. The cat tried to speak, but no words would come out, so he settled for mouthing something. A simple three-word phrase that made Rob's eye grow wide. There was no hesitation. The cyclops, visibly shaking, mouthed something back. His response made Gumball fall off of his chair, but it was okay. In that moment, Gumball finally knew how his former nemesis felt.

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**A/N: What did you think? Leave a review and let me know. Faves and follows are always appreciated. Until next time... - Lynne**


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